Never miss a Recipe or any of my great Giveaways

Subscribe to my RSS Feed

Or

Subscribe via Email

Email

Gluten Free Pecan Tassies Recipe

by Carol Kicinski on December 16, 2007

First of all, let me just say that I am not really a baker. I once heard that cooking is art and baking is science. I’m not sure I totally prescribe to that theory as I have personally seen baked goods that rival da Vinci in terms of aesthetic quality. However, cooking is a little more forgiving than baking. Baking requires all that measuring. I am more of a pinch of this, a splash of that kind of gal. Plus there’s all that sifting and turning the pans while baking. And then there’s the uncertainty. Why does the same recipe come out great one time and too wet or dry the next? Humidity, measuring, precise temperatures. Sounds like science to me. It’s hard enough to do regular baking but when you factor in the whole gluten intolerance thing with the fact that you can’t just substitute one kind of gluten free flour for regular wheat flour but in fact must combine flours, well it’s enough to have me swearing off baking for good.

Come time for the Holidays, however, and I suddenly decide I love to bake! Something about Christmas just screams cookies to me.

Years ago, in the days BFN (Before Food Network) I was watching Natalie Dupree on PBS and she made these delightful little southern cookies called Pecan Tassies. I found them so charming I have been making them at Christmas ever since. My friends and family look forward to these wonderful little gems that are like a less sweet, mini version of pecan pie.

Over the years I have tweaked Natalie’s recipe to fit my tastes and up until this year I have always made them with wheat flour and suffered the consequences. But this year, I put my foot down. NO MORE GLUTEN! So I substituted the flour with Pamela’s Wheat-free Bread Mix. Such an easy solution to mixing all that potato starch and xanthan and what not. The result? Well in the words of my gluten-loving husband, “These are the best EVER!”

I always have a little filling left over which I eat with a spoon when no one is looking!

These gluten-free cookies came out so beautifully that I have decided I love baking! (Well, I really love eating and there is just nothing better than freshly baked cookies so, I love baking!)

Filling

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the butter, cream cheese and wheat-free bread mix in a food processor (or you can use a mixer). The dough should be well mixed but will be soft. Shape into 24 balls (just shy of about a tablespoon each), wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about an hour. Place each ball in a cup of a mini muffin tin and press with your fingertips against the bottoms and sides. (Or you can do like Natalie and I do – use a piece of a 1” dowel that has been put into some more bread mix and press down. This forms perfect little crusts with very little effort.)

For the filling, whisk together the egg, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt very well until all lumps are gone. Put about a teaspoon of mixture into each crust. Top each cookie with chopped pecans. Bake for about 30 minutes (turn pan once half way through baking) or until the crust is browned and the filling is set. Start checking at 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove and place on a wire rack to finish cooling. The easiest way to remove the cookies is with a small off-set spatula or butter knife. Make sure to get those cookies out of the muffin tins before they completely cool, otherwise the caramel will set and they will be difficult to remove.

Servings

Need a quick meal?

Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.

“The “Simply” in ‘Simply … Gluten-Free Quick Meals’ doesn’t just make for a catchy title. The recipes in this cookbook truly are quick and easy to prepare. – A. C.

“I set the timer on two separate nights and made two complete meals from Carol’s latest cookbook in 30-40 minutes. They not only pleased my family, but gave me new recipes and techniques to get dinner on the table faster every night.” – W. K.

“I love the way this book is laid out – full meals I can make in no time. Love the sense of fun and humor in this book but mostly I love all the gluten free recipes -.” – J. F.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. This blog accepts free manufacturers samples and forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

Hi Carol, just found this recipe, I'm looking for a base to use as canapes for xmas savoury nibbles, do you think this bread/cream cheese base would work, or are they very much for a sweet treat?Thanks Charlotte (cupcake corner)ps love your recent blogposts, at least you're trying to exercise and taking it seriously, but you've got to stop spending so much each time you try!!! X

Made these tonight for my family and they were a HIT! I used to make something very close to this before we had to go GF for our son….and he was so worried we’d never have dessert again…thank you so much for this website and your recipes….

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. This blog accepts free manufacturers samples and forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

iPad and iPhone are Registered Trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a Service Mark of Apple, Inc.